What To Do With Black Bananas

I got home from work yesterday to discover that the bananas on the counter were really yellow, ok almost black, and smelled supremely banana-y (banana-ish?). Considering that the Amish bread starter that is proofing on the counter is making my whole kitchen smell like I'm brewing beer, I really couldn't handle the beer/banana combination that was occurring, so I decided that the bananas would have to become banana bread, pronto.

I have several 'fancy' banana bread recipes I've been wanting to try...two from Orangette's blog, a Martha Stewart one, an Alton Brown one...but since I was rushing I decided to go to the tried and true Betty Crocker Cookbook, the 3 ring one with the red checker-board cover. It had exactly what I wanted, a basic banana bread recipe that was super easy. I went from yellow-black (yack? blellow?) bananas, to golden-brown banana bread in less than an hour, including 45 minutes of baking time!

The end result was just what I wanted: simple and delicious. The sugary top crust is slightly crunchy, but the rest of the bread is smooth and moist, with an occasional lump of banana goodness. The bread also makes your kitchen smell tantalizingly fresh and cinnamony, and will totally smother any overpoweringly yeasty smells, I promise.

Betty Crocker Banana Bread
Slightly tweaked

4 large overripe bananas

2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups white granulated sugar

3 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon

dash ground cloves

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and cloves, set aside. In a food processor puree together the bananas, eggs, oil, and sugar, until mostly smooth (or mash the bananas with a potato masher and stir in the rest). It's ok if there are a few lumps left.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once, stir until just combined. DON'T overmix! Divide the batter between two lightly greased 8x4 inch loaf pans. Combine the additional sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over the tops of the loaves.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, then rotate and cover loosely with foil if necessary, because the sugar makes them brown quickly on top. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before attempting to take the loaves out. Carefully remove them from pans to a wire rack to continue cooling, and for best results let the bread rest until the next day before slicing. But you can dig in right away; a slice of warm banana bread makes a lovely snack!

Makes two loaves, about 24 slices, and should keep for about a week if well-wrapped.

Yes, we have no bananas....

The last time I went to Costco I was puzzled by my inability to find bananas, but decided I'd get them elsewhere, and fought my way through the crowds to the check-out line. The guy in line in front of me was buying Costco-sized--aka gargantuan--portions of approximately fifteen different kinds of fruit (was he going for world record for largest fruit salad? does he have a fruit-only restaurant? or fifteen children that each love a different fruit?) and I was staring in some awe at his collection when I realized that he was querying the cashier about the lack of bananas. I chimed in that I was unable to find them either, and the cashier paged someone to look and see if there were any in the back. A lady radioed to the back, listened to the response, then came over and said quite seriously, "Yes, we have no bananas." Then she chortled for a while, and explained that she's always wanted to say that. The fruit guy and I both smiled politely, and then wended our way out of the warehouse, bananaless.

But luckily I had some really ripe bananas stashed in my freezer, so I had plently of banana goodness to make banana cookies. I think these tasty little treats might surprise you. They're not an attention grabbing cookie: they are a teensy bit lumpy, and a rather boring shade of brown. Also, the combination of a banana cookie with a citrus frosting might sound odd at first, but trust me, these are completely delectable. The banana mixture is spiced and dense, yet still light and moist, the perfect bite-sized banana bread. Then a creamy, blindingly sweet lemon (or lime) frosting is dolloped atop them, making them slightly resemble tiny snow-capped mountains. I cannot resist them with the frosting, it makes them the perfect combination of sweet, spicy, tangy, smooth and chewy. However, they're also quite good (and probably a little better for your dental hygiene) without the frosting; a little bit crispy on the edges, and moist and banana bread-like in the middle.

Enough raving: here's the recipe, enjoy!

Banana Cookies with Lemon Frosting

For cookies:

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

For frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsbp lemon (or lime) juice

1/4 tsp orange extract (optional--but adds nice depth)

2-3 tbsp milk

In a medium bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cloves, and cinnamon; set bowl aside. In a large bowl cream together shortening and butter until well-blended, then cream in brown sugar until whole mixture is light and fluffy. Blend in the two eggs, adding them one at a time, then add bananas, and mix until well-combined.

Slowly add flour/spice mixture to wet ingredients, mixing well after each addition. Scrape batter out of bowl onto a sheet of plastic wrap, wrap it tightly, and place in fridge for at least one hour, up to 24 hours.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat oven to 375 degrees F, drop the chilled batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets. (Leave a little space between the cookies, they don't spread too much, but they do need a little growing room). Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes at 375, or until set on top and slightly brown underneath. Carefully transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool.

While the cookies are cooling, get a medium bowl and add the powdered sugar, lemon or lime juice, and orange extract. Begin adding the milk 1/2 tablespoonful at a time, until the mixture has reached a smooth, spreadable consistency (if it's too thin it makes a big mess--if it's too thick it'll make the top of the cookies crumble when you try to spread it, just eyeball it, and stop with the milk when it looks nice and spreadable).

Spread the frosting on the cookies and enjoy! This recipe makes 40 cookies, and enough frosting for about 35 cookies (I like to leave a few unfrosted. If you want to frost all of them, or fewer of them, make more or less frosting accordingly.) They'll keep for about a week in an airtight container. Mmm.....bananas.